The Depth Of Sinking Aluminum Balls

Broad Question

What size aluminum ball in (cm) does it take to sink in water?

Specific question
Will it take 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15 grams to sink an aluminum ball?

Variables

Independent Variable

aluminum ball size (cm)

Dependent Variable:

depth (cm)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

aluminum ball
same water
same temp and same amount

hypothesis

I hypothesize that the heaviest the ball is in (cm), it will sink further in depth.

graph of hypothesis

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Experimental Design

I will conduct my experiment in my science room with Mrs.Rice and Mrs.Chandler . Also there will be three people doing the same experiment as me. We will be doing 5 trials for this experiment that will be enough to get enough info. We will certainly be recording this on a spread sheet on the computer as we go on. We will write down the data as we go on. We will write the data on a piece of paper so we know what we have.

materials list

• water bowl
• aluminum foil
• ruler
• water
• pencil
• camera
• calculator

detailed procedure

1. gather all materials for the experiment
2. then set up materials for the experiment
3. set up bowl by putting it on the table right side up
4. then put water in the bowl
5. crumple up a piece of aluminum into a ball but don't make it to compacted
6.then put the aluminum ball in the bowl of water
7. then take a ruler and measure on how far it goes
8. then write down the distance and do this 5 more times.
9. also make sure that you get all of the water out of the aluminum ball.

Resources and Budget Table

every thing is all paid for

[[image:data/image/jpeg;base64,/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAQAAAQABAAD]]

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Background Research

Buoyancy arises from fluid pressure and increases from the depth that it gets. The increased pressure is also exerted from all directions so the unbalanced force that makes the upward force on the bottom of the submerged object. if a object weighs more than the water displaces the object will sink. A object will also float in either gas or liquid if there is buoyancy. When density the ratio of mass to volume of an object matches the density of surrounding fluids it will neither sink or float. but it will also remain suspended in fluid. Buoyancy(N) = density of fluid(kg m -3) x acceleration due to gravity (m s -2 ) x volume of the immersed part of the object (m 3). Experimental Design 1. i will conduct my experiment in the science room. 2. three people will be involved doing this experiment 3. we will be doing 5 trials to get our full information. 5.we will be recording depth in our experiment 4. we will record the the data on a data table and then put our final info on to the computer and print it. Procedure 1. get all materials from mrs rice 2. bring the materials from mrs rice to the science room 3. set up materials and get ready for experimenting. 4. start doing the experiment 5. do the project as scheduled 6. when done write down with all trials write down the data. 7. when all data is collected type data on the computer 8. when typed print it out and then on the computer send it to Ms. Rice when done.

References

"ehow.com." ehow to calculate buoyancy. http://www.ehow.com/how_2101130_calculate-buoyancy.html, 12 June 1978. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.

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Results

data table

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Conclusion

The original purpose of this experiment was to see out how far down three different size aluminum balls would sink when placed in a bowl of water. The results of the experiment were the size does matter. The smaller the ball the higher chance it will sink over a larger size aluminum ball.

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Discussion

My hypothesis was that the larger the ball the more it would sink. My results do not support my hypothesisand there is a relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Some patterns and trends thatmy data shows are that the big aluminum ball size sunk the least such as 2 (cm) medium was right in the middle such as 6 (cm) and the small size was at the top for the deepest such as 15 (cm) . I think the tests that I did went smoothly because all I had to do was make an aluminum ball, put it in the water and let it drop. It was so easy. If I could improve my experiment I would add little weights to the aluminum balls. An interesting future study might involve seeing what kind of kickball can go further such as a deflated ball and a ball full of air.